"Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" is the first single from the Backstreet Boys' second international album Backstreet's Back in 1997, and third single from their debut US album in 1998. It is one of their signature songs. The US debut was originally released without the song, which references the band's return via their sophomore international album. However, once it was decided to release the single in the US, the album was re-released with "Everybody" included.
Zomba chairman Clive Calder suggested the song as a single, but Jive president Barry Weiss thought it would be weird to have a song called "Backstreet's Back" on the band's first US album. The band suggested it could just mean that they were back home. After Canadian markets began playing the song, US markets near the border began picking the song up. The band met with Weiss and asked that the song be added to the US album after the first million units had already been produced.
Written by Max Martin and Denniz PoP, "Everybody" is one of the Backstreet Boys' most successful singles to date, reaching #4 in the US Billboard Hot 100, running 22 weeks, and #3 in the UK Singles Chart. It is certified platinum in the United States with 2.1 million sales.
There are two versions of the song. The international album features the Album or 7" Version, which is the standard recording. The U.S. album features the extended version of the song which includes an extended breakdown section, but cuts the bridge. The music video for the song was cut to both versions of the song, with the extended video released to the U.S. market, and the standard video released everywhere else.